Departmental Offices

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what area of office space his Department and its agencies used in central London in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department used 26,422 m(2) of office space in 2004 and 27,345 m(2) of office space in 2006. This excludes short-term serviced office accommodation used by the Department in 2004 (and since vacated) for which data on area occupied is not available.
	The increase in office space is due to:
	(a) machinery of Government changes which led to the transfer of the Government Car and Despatch Agency to the Department for Transport in 2005,
	(b) the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority and the transfer of their property portfolio to the Department for Transport (also in 2005).

Departmental PPP and PFI

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) annual cost and  (b) final year is of each public private partnership and private finance initiative contract with his Department and its agencies.

Gillian Merron: The annual cost and termination year of PPP/PFI contracts awarded by the Department for Transport and its agencies are as follows:
	
		
			  DfT agency/project  2005-06 Unitary charge (£ million)  Final year on contract 
			  DVLA 
			 Estates Transformation 9.8 2024-25 
			  
			  Highways Agency 
			 A1 Darrington to Dishforth 14.7 2036-37 
			 A1 (M) Alconbury to Peterborough 26.8 2025-26 
			 A19 Dishforth to Tyne Tunnel 24.4 2026-27 
			 A249 Stockbury to Sheerness (1)0.0 2033-34 
			 A30/A35 Exeter to Bere Regis 28.8 2026-27 
			 A417/A419 Swindon to Gloucester 19.1 2025-26 
			 A50 Stoke to Derby 15.2 2026-27 
			 A69 Carlisle to Newcastle 11.1 2026-27 
			 M1/A1 Lofthouseto Bramham 56.0 2026-27 
			 M40 Denham to Warwick 22.8 2026-27 
			 National Road Telecommunication Service (1)0.0 2015-16 
			 Traffic Control Centre 11.1 2011-12 
			  
			  VOSA 
			 MOT Computerisation 29.0 2015-16 
			 (1) Contract under construction and so not yet triggered any service delivery payments. 
		
	
	The annual cost of PFI projects varies depending of the service provision, its performance and any index linked payments.

Driving Offences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorists were stopped by the police and found to have  (a) drugs and  (b) weapons in their cars in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.
	The Stops and Search collection under Section one of PACE and other legislation, held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, records the number of stop and searches and the reason for power being exercised. The outcome of the searches which lead to arrest are recorded against the reason for arrest. The outcomes are recorded against the person irrespective of whether the person, the vehicle or both were searched. The person data do not distinguish motorists from any other type of person.

Driving Offences

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of motor vehicles being used on the road without  (a) road tax and  (b) insurance.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) The most recent estimates of the number of vehicles evading Vehicle Excise Duty in Great Britain and Northern Ireland were published in the statistical report Vehicle Excise Duty Evasion 2006. A copy of this report, published on 25 January 2007, was placed in the House of Commons Library and is also available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/162259/162469/VEDEvasionSurveyReport2006
	 (b) Our latest estimate (2005) for uninsured driving is based on a comparison of the vehicle register, maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Motor Insurance Database. It is that there are about 2.1 million vehicles (about 6.5 per cent. of the UK vehicle fleet) being driven by uninsured drivers.

Driving: Licensing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has he made of the number of motorists driving illegally in the United Kingdom because they are using their non-UK or non-EC/EEA licence more than 12 months after their arrival in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: No estimate is made of illegal drivers who continue to drive in the UK once their non-UK or non-EC/EEA licence ceases to be valid. Enforcement of driver licensing is for the police. If unlicensed foreign nationals who contravene driver licensing rules are found by the police they are prosecuted. However, Home Office statistics on offences relating to motor vehicles do not differentiate between UK and non-UK drivers.
	A survey of compliance with road safety legislation in general was carried out in 2006 and was placed in the House Libraries and is on the internet at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/roadspolicingoperationv79/.

Railways: Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding is available to improve rail services on the Lancaster/Morecambe line.

Tom Harris: There are no plans to change the rail service on the Lancaster/Morecombe line.

Railways: Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will encourage the relevant train operators to provide more direct train services from Manchester and Preston to Morecambe.

Tom Harris: There are no plans to encourage train operators to provide more direct train services from Manchester and Preston to Morecombe.

Railways: Summer Heat

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to prevent rail-tracks from becoming inoperative due to the heat from the sun during the summer.

Tom Harris: The performance of the rail network is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail infrastructure. For a response to his question, the hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address:
	John Armitt
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Railways: Theft

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of delays and disruptions on the railway caused by the theft of copper signal cabling and other equipment in the last 12 months.

Tom Harris: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his question.
	John Armitt
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1779W, on Afghanistan, if he will break down how the 70 per cent. of aid given direct to the Afghanistan government has been spent; and what steps he is taking  (a) to audit the spending and  (b) to ensure it has been well spent.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 5 February 2007
	In 2006-07 DFID expects to provide 70 per cent. of its support to Afghanistan to the government budget. £10 million was channelled through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a multi-donor pooled fund which supports the government's operating costs and priority development activities but earmarked for specific programmes. These included £5 million each for the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), and the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA). NSP has so far created 16,000 community development councils across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan with over £147 million spent on over 22,000 projects in the areas of agriculture, education, health, irrigation, power, public buildings, transport and water supply. MISFA has so far provided small loans to 234,000 clients. Nearly 75 per cent. of those receiving loans are women.
	A further £10 million has been committed as our first contribution to the Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (HARDP), a programme to facilitate the roll-out of the government of Afghanistan's national programmes specifically in Helmand province. To date 150 wells are being constructed, with a further 150 wells and 49km of road construction commencing this week.
	£50 million of this was channelled as unearmarked support to the ARTF. Three-quarters of all ARTF funds are spent on civil servants in key service delivery sectors. For example, 40 per cent. goes towards salaries for 100,000 teachers each month. We have in place robust safeguards to ensure DFID money is being well spent. The World Bank, as administrator of the ARTF, ensures rigorous checks against all payments made from that fund, which are only reimbursed if they are considered eligible. Annual ARTF audits are undertaken by an independent accounting firm. These reports have been favourable and show improving financial management trends. By law, the government has to submit the national budget audit to Parliament. This was done for the first time in 2006. Also DFID has been leading the group of donors to the ARTF, in setting up a monitoring mechanism to better assess the development impact from ARTF funding.
	In the case of HARDP, we provide the funding direct to an account at the Ministry of Finance. All procurement procedures use the recently adopted government law based on World Bank procurement best practice. Given that HARDP is supporting existing programmes, the existing monitoring and audit systems are used, managed by the World Bank. In addition the Ministry of Finance are required to provide DFID with annual audited statements by the government of Afghanistan Auditor General.

Departmental Contracts

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent in each of the last three years on charter flights to transport UK personnel to and from  (a) Iraq and  (b) other theatres of operation;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on charter flights to and from the  (a) Al Udeid and  (b) Ali Al Salem air bases in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: Aircraft chartered to fly to and from operational theatres usually carry a mixture of passengers and freight, and it is therefore not possible to identify separately the cost of moving UK personnel.
	Personnel travel to Iraq using a combination of commercial charter and military aircraft. Conventional civilian air passenger aircraft fly to Al Udeid, the middle eastern hub, where personnel are transferred onto RAF aircraft for movement to final destination. There have been no charter flights to Ali Al Salem over the last three years.
	The costs of charter flights over the last three years are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Financial year 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Al Udeid (Iraq) 9.653 8.428 17.034 
			 Pakistan/New Orleans 0 2.817 0.055 
			 South Atlantic Charter 9.916 9.555 5.539 
			 Afghanistan 0.360 1.998 8.770 
			 Balkans 1.626 0.835 0.058 
			 Lebanon 0 0 1.571

Members: Correspondence

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Banbury of 15 November 2006 in relation to 23 Pioneer Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, based in Bicester.

Derek Twigg: The Department routinely acknowledges ministerial correspondence on receipt. However, in this instance, we have no record of receiving the hon. Member's letter. If the hon. Member would like to forward a copy of his letter I will ensure he receives a reply.

Nuclear Weapons

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the public consultation on the replacement for the Trident system.

Des Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1491W.
	Since then, I have given a detailed speech at Kings College, London, we have staged a full debate in the House of Lords and I have given wide-ranging evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee. We have also responded to many enquiries from members of the public. The costs of these activities cannot be separately identified.

Railways: Belfast

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many passengers used  (a) the Belfast to Larne railway line and  (b) the Belfast to Bangor railway line in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: Figures are not available by calendar month as information is collected on an operational period basis (either four or five-week periods). This however is broadly representative of calendar months. Patronage information on the Bangor and Larne lines for the last 12 periods is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Period  Bangor patronage  Larne patronage 
			  2005-06   
			 10 (January) 122,885 110,322 
			 11 159,744 139,821 
			 12 188,927 165,394 
			
			  2006-07   
			 1 141,396 117,470 
			 2 160,602 134,015 
			 3 187,126 160,773 
			 4 147,864 102,295 
			 5 164,612 118,490 
			 6 187,100 173,400 
			 7 162,678 164,166 
			 8 159,892 152,029 
			 9 (December) 180,016 167,305 
			 Total 1,962,842 1,705,480 
			  Note: Periods 3, 6, 9 and 12 are five-week periods. All others are four week periods.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) of 26 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 211-13W, on bovine TB, what changes to the tabular systems are under consideration; and how proposals will be consulted on.

Ben Bradshaw: In considering possible changes to the current compensation arrangements, discussions within the Cattle Compensation Advisory Group have focussed on the industry representatives' suggestions for enhancing compensation rates (in the identified sectors) for 'higher quality stock'.
	A decision on how we consult interested parties about possible system changes will be made once the different suggestions have been fully evaluated. As noted previously, any changes would need to be justified and fair to farmers and the taxpayer. They would also need to take account of the extensive evidence on the level of over-valuation experienced under the previous system based on individual valuations.

Fly-tipping

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) reported incidents of fly-tipping and  (b) convictions relating to incidents of fly-tipping there have been in the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Flycapture, the national database of fly-tipping incidents, was set up in 2004 by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association, to record fly-tipping incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and local authorities. Data on fly-tipping levels are, therefore, only available from April 2004 onwards.
	Flycapture data show that, in England, 926,534 incidents were reported in the period from April 2004 to March 2005. There were 1,034,518 incidents reported from April 2005 to March 2006.
	The number of defendants found guilty of offences under sections 33 and 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is shown in the following table. Data from 2006 will not be available until November 2007.
	
		
			   Number of defendants found guilty of offences under sections 33 and 34 of Environmental Protection Act 
			 2001 738 
			 2002 916 
			 2003 859 
			 2004 1,133 
			 2005 1,541 
			  Source: Criminal Justice Systems Analysis, RDS—OCJR. IOS: 002-07

Child Curfew Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child curfew orders were issued in Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The available information, relating to curfew orders given to persons aged 10 to 17 in Suffolk courts, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Persons aged 10 to17 sentenced to curfew orders at Suffolk courts( 1) 
			   Number 
			 1997 (2)— 
			 1998 2 
			 1999 10 
			 2000 17 
			 2001 20 
			 2002 25 
			 2003 33 
			 2004 40 
			 2005 61 
			 (1) Magistrates courts in Suffolk and the Crown court if committed by magistrates in Suffolk. (2) Curfew orders were introduced on an area by area basis from 1995.  Note: Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office

Crime: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the conviction rate was for  (a) violent crimes and  (b) all crimes recorded in (i) Avon and Somerset and (ii) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer for 1 February 2007
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates courts, found guilty at all courts and convictions as a proportion of prosecutions for violent offences in Avon and Somerset and England and Wales, 1996-2005, are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for violent offences and all offences, with convictions as a proportion of prosecutions, Avon and Somerset police force area and England and Wales, 1996-2005( 1,2) 
			   England and Wales  Avon and Somerset 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Convictions as a proportion of prosecutions (Percentage)  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Convictions as a proportion of prosecutions (Percentage) 
			  All violent offences( 3)   
			 1996 81,632 40,345 49 1,781 705 40 
			 1997 88,370 44,674 51 1,908 901 47 
			 1998 93,456 47,159 50 2,049 900 44 
			 1999 93,453 45,630 49 2,155 1,030 48 
			 2000 94,907 45,104 48 2,150 1,040 48 
			 2001 100,001 46,163 46 2,225 952 43 
			 2002 103,192 49,803 48 2,318 1,089 47 
			 2003 102,465 49,694 48 2,464 1,208 49 
			 2004 93,735 51,415 55 1,883 1,126 60 
			 2005 90,409 52,820 58 1,868 1,151 62 
			
			  All offences   
			 1996 1,919,494 1,438,027 75 57,893 41,666 72 
			 1997 1,855,333 1,385,822 75 57,059 41,799 73 
			 1998 1,951,915 1,469,734 75 57,737 41,031 71 
			 1999 1,881,765 1,408,461 75 51,925 36,919 71 
			 2000 1,904,677 1,423,702 75 51,514 37,756 73 
			 2001 1,837,733 1,349,673 73 50,422 36,139 72 
			 2002 1,924,828 1,421,285 74 55,037 38,817 71 
			 2003 2,000,822 1,491,210 75 62,282 43,835 70 
			 2004 2,022,604 1,548,500 77 60,156 43,982 73 
			 2005 1,895,002 1,484,424 78 55,790 41,396 74 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.  Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Hit and Run

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were prosecuted for failing to stop after an accident under the Road Traffic Act 1988 in Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and given in the table shows the number of defendants prosecuted for the offence of 'failing to stop after an accident' under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.170 (4) from 1997 to 2005 (latest available).

Human Trafficking: Children

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the responsibilities are of  (a) the Child Exploitation and On-line Protection Centre and  (b) the Human trafficking Centre on child trafficking issues; and in what ways the organisations inter-relate.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 5 February 2007
	The main responsibility of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is to combat child exploitation both in the online and offline environment. It does this by working with the Department for Education and Skills, police forces, offender managers, children's services and other stakeholders.. Its priority is to work with its partners in making the internet as safe as possible for children and young people to use and alert the police of those posing a risk to children.
	The responsibility of the UK Human Trafficking Centre is to establish a more joined up response across law enforcement agencies to tackling human trafficking. It will develop police expertise and co-ordinate targeted operations. The Centre will also promote the replication and expansion of support services to victims of trafficking. It is also playing an active part in devising training for investigating police officers in trafficking cases.
	Both organisations are working together within the framework of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to develop operational and strategic working relationships to ensure that wherever possible trafficked children are identified and appropriately protected. an active part in devising training for investigating police officers in trafficking cases.

Legal Systems: Islam

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent to which Sharia courts have been used in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) to the Lord Marlesford on 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column WA 234.

Prisoners

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male prisoners are classified as category  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D in England and Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of prisoners by category held in prison establishments in England and Wales at the end of November 2006, as provided by the prison IT system, is shown in the following table.
	The figures provided have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and the totals have been rounded.
	
		
			  Population( 1)  of category A, B, C and D prisoners at prison establishments in England and Wales as at 30 November 2006 
			   Number 
			 Category A 700 
			 Category B 9,200 
			 Category C 36,700 
			 Category D 5,200 
			 (1 )Totals will not add to total published prison numbers because (i) many prisoners recently sentenced are under assessment for security classification; and (ii) the security categories do not normally apply to remand prisoners, women or young offenders.

Prisoners

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are in each prison in the south west region; and what the operational capacity is of each prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Figures taken from the prison IT system giving prison population and operational capacity of all prisons in the South West region of England can be found in the table.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Prisoner population and operational capacity of prisons in South West as at December 2006 
			   Operational capacity  Population 
			 Bristol 606 606 
			 Channings Wood 667 657 
			 Dartmoor 625 611 
			 Dorchester 260 244 
			 Eastwood Park 362 347 
			 Erlestoke 426 425 
			 Exeter 533 486 
			 Gloucester 323 288 
			 Guys Marsh 578 571 
			 Leyhill 512 387 
			 Portland 557 512 
			 Shepton Mallet 189 189 
			 The Verne 587 582 
		
	
	These figures are taken from the prison service website at:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/assets/documents/100025D5pop_bull_dec_06.doc

Prisons

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on the Prison Service in each of the last 10 financial years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Home Office revenue net cash outflow( 1)  for prisons 
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 (2)2,426 
			 2005-06 2,250 
			 2004-05 2,069 
			 2003-04 2,011 
			 2002-03 1,910 
			 2001-02 1,758 
			 2000-01 1,715 
			 1999-2000 1,738 
			 1998-99 1,651 
			 1997-98 1,524 
			 1996-97 1,401 
			 (1)Revenue net cash outflow covers spending on pay and ongoing non pay items (e.g. prisoners' meals) and excludes one off capital expenditure and non-cash accounting charges such as cost of capital. (2) Estimate. 
		
	
	The figures include: (a) HM Prison Service (HMPS) net cash outflow as published in its annual accounts; (b) from 2003-04 onwards, spending on contracted prisons, which from 2003-04 are no longer included in HMPS accounts; and (c) for 2005-06 and 2006-07 a detailed estimate of spending on services which transferred from the Prison Service to NOMS centre.
	Budgets and expenditure for education and health in prisons transferred to the Department for Education and Skills and Department of Health with effect from 2001-02 and 2003-4 respectively. Budgets and expenditure for juveniles transferred to the Youth Justice Board (a non-departmental public body) from 2000-01. The figures provided above exclude these items with effect from the appropriate years.

Prisons

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held  (a) in each prison and  (b) in police cells in Essex in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In response to  (a), information on the number of prisoners held in prison establishments in Essex since 1997 can be found in the following table.
	In response to  (b), police cells were used in Essex in 2002 (between July and December), in 2006 (between October to December) and 2007 (from 22 January). However, the precise numbers are not available centrally.
	The figures given in this answer relating to the number of prisoners held in prison establishments have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Prisoner population in Essex, 1997 to 2006 
			  As at 30 June each year  Bulwood Hall  Chelmsford  Colchester( 1) 
			 1997 125 469 37 
			 1998 134 455 — 
			 1999 137 432 — 
			 2000 160 360 — 
			 2001 162 463 — 
			 2002 181 564 — 
			 2003 163 597 — 
			 2004 166 560 — 
			 2005 146 574 — 
			 2006(2) 16 580 — 
			 (1) Colchester open young offender establishment opened on 20 February 1997 and closed end of March 1998. (2) During June 2006 a male closed training unit opened at Bulwood Hall and the female closed training prison unit, the female closed young offender institution unit and the female juvenile institution unit at Bulwood Hall stopped taking inmates. By August, the total establishment had risen to 174.

Privacy Impact Assessment

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a privacy impact assessment  (a) has been produced and  (b) is planned for (i) the identity cards scheme and (ii) the Automated Number Plate Recognition project.

Joan Ryan: No privacy impact assessment has been produced, or is planned, for the National Identity Scheme. However, the questions of privacy and confidentiality of data have been repeatedly considered, including in the course of extensive debate in Parliament during the passage of the Identity Cards Act. We have published a Regulatory Impact Assessment and a Race Equality Impact Assessment, and both the legislation itself and the operation of the scheme must comply with the Human Rights Act 1998 and Data Protection Act 1998. The Identity Cards Act makes unauthorised disclosure of information from the National Identity Register a criminal offence. The National Identity Scheme Commissioner will oversee the operation of the scheme, including keeping under review arrangements for securing the confidentiality and integrity of information recorded in the register.
	No privacy impact assessment has been produced, or is planned, relating to the police use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). Police forces in England and Wales currently share ANPR data for the prevention and detection of crime and for intelligence analysis purposes. This exchange of data is covered by existing legislation.

Sentencing Statistics

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants in England and Wales received immediate custodial sentences for offences of  (a) obtaining property by deception,  (b) perverting or attempting to pervert the course of justice and  (c) theft in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to immediate custody for certain offences, England and Wales, 2001 to 2005 
			   Obtaining property by deception  Perverting the course of justice( 1)  Theft and handling stolen goods 
			 2001 1,753 1,128 26,205 
			 2002 1,691 960 27,945 
			 2003 1,496 855 25,517 
			 2004 1,414 890 22,759 
			 2005 1,263 867 20,472 
			  Notes: (1 )Common law offences and offences of intimidating or harming jurors or witnesses. Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.( )Common law offences and offences of intimidating or harming jurors or witnesses.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office

Victim Fund

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many voluntary service organisations  (a) bid for funding and  (b) were awarded funding from the Victim Fund in each year for the last five years; and how much was awarded.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 2 February 2006
	The Government have invested £5.25 million into the sexual violence and abuse sector through the Victims Fund over the last three years, with over £3 million going directly to voluntary and community sector organisations.
	The following table provides a breakdown of the number of applicants; number of voluntary and community sector organisations funded; and total grand awards for each year.
	
		
			   Applicants  VCS organisations funded  Total funding (£) 
			 2004-05 93 46 650,000 
			 2005-06 217 60 1.9 million 
			 2006-07 181 45 1.2 million

British Gurkha Welfare Society: Petitions

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister if he will  (a) meet the British Gurkha Welfare Society and  (b) place in the Library his response to the Society's petition accepted at 10 Downing street on 14 December 2006.

Tony Blair: I have no current plans to do so. My hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans (Derek Twigg) has responded to the petition of 14 December 2006, and a copy of his reply has been placed in the Library of the House.

Committees: Ministerial Attendance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what occasions  (a) he and  (b) departmental Ministers have been requested to appear before committees of (i) devolved institutions and (ii) the European Parliament since 2004; on what topic in each case; how many and what proportion of such requests were accepted; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: No central record is held of requests to Scotland Office Ministers to appear before committees of the devolved institutions. However, my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mrs. McGuire), attended a meeting of the Scottish Parliament Procedures Committee on 1 March 2005 to discuss the committee's inquiry into the operation in the Scottish Parliament of the Sewel Convention.
	No Scotland Office Ministers have been invited to appear before committees of the European Parliament.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 April 1999. Since that date, the Office has paid the following amounts to recruitment agencies for temporary staff:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000(1) 2,135 
			 2000-01 68,404 
			 2001-02 55,534 
			 2002-03 60,601 
			 2003-04 54,017 
			 2004-05 7,098 
			 2005-06 ? 
			 (1) Part year

Scotland Office: Travel

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many journeys  (a) Scotland Office Ministers and  (b) Scotland Office civil servants have made between London and Scotland on official business in each month since January 2005; and how many of these journeys were made by (i) aeroplane, (ii) train and (iii) car.

David Cairns: The information requested is set out in the table. In relation to travel by Ministers the information relates to travel paid by the Scotland Office. It excludes regular travel between London and Scotland paid by the House of Commons. We do not hold information on such travel.
	
		
			   Number of journeys( 1) 
			   Aeroplane  Train  Car 
			  Month  Ministers  Civil servants  Ministers  Civil servants  Ministers  Civil servants 
			  2005   
			 January 1 23 0 4 0 0 
			 February 0 27.5 0 7.5 0 0 
			 March 2.5 26.5 0 4.5 0 0 
			 April 0 16.5 0 5 0 0 
			 May 1.5 28 0 7 0 0 
			 June 2 30 0 6 0 0 
			 July 1.5 20 0 5 0 0 
			 August 0 15 0.5 3 0 0 
			 September 0.5 21 0.5 2 0 0 
			 October 1 34.5 0 4.5 0 0 
			 November 0 29 0 8 0 0 
			 December 0 20 0.5 6 0 0 
			
			  2006   
			 January 0 19 0 9 0 0 
			 February 1 25.5 0 8.5 0 0 
			 March 0 28.5 0 9.5 0 0 
			 April 0.5 16.5 0 7.5 0 0 
			 May 0 26 0 8 0 0 
			 June 1 27.5 0.5 6.5 0 0 
			 July 0 35.5 0 5.5 0 0 
			 August 3 18.5 0.5 9.5 0 0 
			 September 1 24 0 5 0 0 
			 October 1 26 0 9 0 0 
			 November 1 33 0 10 0 0 
			 December 0 15 0.5 5 0 0 
			 (1 )A return journey is classed as one journey; if, for example, the outward leg of a journey is undertaken by air and the return by train, this is shown as half a journey under each column.

Children's Social Workers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's social workers were employed by local authorities in each of the last 10 years, expressed as  (a) headcount and  (b) whole-time equivalents.

Beverley Hughes: The number of people employed by local authorities in England who are counted as social workers with children is shown in the following table for the period 1996-2005.
	
		
			   Headcount  Whole time equivalent 
			 1996 17,400 15,600 
			 1997 18,700 16,800 
			 1998 18,900 17,000 
			 1999 19,200 17,300 
			 2000 19,700 17,800 
			 2001 20,400 18,100 
			 2002 21,400 19,100 
			 2003 22,800 20,500 
			 2004 23,600 21,200 
			 2005 24,400 21,800 
			  Notes: 1. Data have been rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures as at 30 September.  Source: Information Centre

Class Sizes

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools was in (i) Ludlow constituency and (ii) Shropshire in each year since 1997; and what the national average was in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools ( 1) : average class size ( 2) —1997-2006 
			   Ludlow  Shropshire LA   
			   Parliamentary constituency  (Before Local Government reorganisation)  (After Local Government reorganisation)  England 
			  Position in January each year  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary 
			 1997 26.4 20.2 27.4 21.9 n/a n/a 27.5 21.7 
			 1998 26.3 21.0 27.3 22.0 n/a n/a 27.7 21.7 
			 1999 26.7 21.3 n/a n/a 26.9 21.6 27.5 21.9 
			 2000 25.4 21.1 n/a n/a 26.0 21.6 27.1 22.0 
			 2001 24.9 21.2 n/a n/a 25.3 22.2 26.7 22.0 
			 2002 25.0 21.8 n/a n/a 25.6 22.3 26.3 21.9 
			 2003 25.6 20.9 n/a n/a 25.6 22.0 26.3 21.9 
			 2004 25.9 21.8 n/a n/a 25.9 22.2 26.2 21.8 
			 2005 26.3 20.6 n/a n/a 26.6 21.8 26.2 21.7 
			 2006 26.0 20.9 n/a n/a 26.7 21.9 26.3 21.5 
			 n/a - not applicable (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Classes taught by one teacher during a single selected period on the Census day in January.  Source:  Schools Census

Education: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what allocation Barnet education authority has received for personalised learning in 2006-07; how much is expected to be allocated for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Schools receive funding for personalised learning through the following funding streams: the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), the Standards Fund (SF) and the School Standards Grant for Personalisation (SSG(P)). The DSG is distributed to local authorities who should consult locally through their schools forum to decide how best to distribute it in a way that reflects national priorities and local needs. The SF is allocated to local authorities who should target this funding at those schools with the highest number of pupils who have fallen behind. The SSG(P) is allocated directly to schools according to a formula set by the Department.
	During 2006-07 the total funding allocated to Barnet LA for personalised learning was £2,696,471. We estimate that the total funding for 2007-08 will be around £4,164,153 if pupil numbers remain the same. The funding breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 DSG 1,257,000 1,951,000 
			 SF 150,000 150,000 
			 SSG (P) 1,289,471 (1)2,063,153 
			 Total 2,696,471 4,164,153 
			 (1) Estimated. 
		
	
	This funding reflects the Government's commitment to tailor the support available for every child that allows them to reach their full potential, irrespective of their background or circumstances. This also provides extra support for those who need additional help to catch up and those who need further stretch to develop a particular gift or talent. Schools need to decide on their own plans to deliver personalised learning and determine how best to invest their additional resources and deploy their staff to deliver them.

Headteachers: Recruitment

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the recruitment process for academy principals was conducted; and how many principals have been appointed.

Jim Knight: The Department expects academy principals to be recruited by national advert, though in some areas where headteacher recruitment is difficult an executive search company might also be employed. We expect the process after long-listing to include an assessment centre and interviews with different expert panels before three or four candidates are put forward for final selection.
	The final selection panel consists of sponsors advised by a DfES representative. Sometimes a LA representative is present as an observer.
	In addition, we have employed an executive recruitment agency to conduct a national advertisement (to provide a pool of potential principals who have passed an assessment centre and interview process). This has been done to help sponsors, but they can if they wish conduct their own recruitment exercise.
	There are 46 open academies with principals in post at each. eight academies have had more than one principal due to retirement or moving to new posts. We have also appointed a further 36 principals for academies due to open over the next two years.

Higher Education: Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average amount spent by his Department was on each full-time undergraduate student attending a  (a) university and  (b) place of higher education in England in each year from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

Bill Rammell: The funding per full time equivalent higher education student studying at English institutions is shown in the following table.
	These funds include recurrent resources for teaching and research provided to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (IDA). The 'total funding per planned student' series also includes fee income. With the introduction of variable fees in 2006, there is no longer a fixed fee paid for each student, and so a new measure 'funding per planned student' is now used. All figures exclude expenditure on student support costs.
	It is not possible to disaggregate these figures between universities and other higher education providers or by course type because recurrent funds are provided to HEFCE and TDA with total expected student numbers irrespective of institution or course type. HEFCE uses the same teaching funding formula for all of the institutions it funds.
	
		
			  Real terms (2004-05 prices)( 1)  (£) 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total funding per planned student 5,500 5,530 5,670 — 
			 Funding per planned student — — 4,820 4,880 
			 (1) All figures are at 2004-05 prices using the March 2006 GDP deflators, rounded to the nearest 10, and consistent with the plans set out in the annual grant letter to HEFCE, and the Department's 2006 annual report. 
		
	
	The coverage of these figures is Home (i.e. UK) and EU domiciled students studying at higher education institutions and further education colleges in England.

Home Education

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on monitoring home education; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Parents who elect to home educate their children must ensure that they receive efficient, full-time education suitable to each child's age, ability and aptitude and to any special needs they may have. Local authorities can make whatever enquiries they consider appropriate to establish whether education provided at home is in accordance with the law. My officials are currently drafting guidelines for local authorities on elective home education, which are due to be issued later this year.

King Fahad Academy

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make inquiries into allegations of racism and religious extremism at the King Fahad Academy, Acton; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: All independent schools must comply with standards set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended. The Department is making enquiries in relation to allegations of racism and extremism at King Fahad Academy to establish whether the school complies with the statutory requirements.

Nurseries: Hendon

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nursery places were available through the Neighbourhood Nurseries Institute in Hendon in 2006-07; what the average cost per place was; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The neighbourhood nursery at Barnfield school in the Hendon parliamentary constituency is a 68 place nursery run by the private provider, Buffer Bear. The nursery has received 299,200 Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative funding over four years, with the final payment being made in 2006/07. The level of fees charged is determined locally by the provider in partnership with the local authority. The nursery is planned to become a Sure Start Children's Centre by March 2008.

Pupils: Autism

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage the provision of secondary sector mainstream support for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder.

Parmjit Dhanda: It is for local authorities to keep under review their arrangements for special educational needs (SEN) provision, including provision for children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs), and to secure sufficient primary and secondary schools. The Good Practice Guidance on ASDs which the Department published, in association with the Department of Health, in 2002 encourages local authorities to develop and range of provision to meet the range of autistic children's needs. This would include provision in mainstream schools and in units attached to such schools.
	The Good Practice Guidance gave pointers to good practice for local authorities, schools, including mainstream secondary schools, and others to help them develop and audit their autism provision. A number of local authorities and the Regional Partnerships, funded by the Department, have produced guidance to support pupils with ASDs in mainstream secondary schools, such the North West Region's guidance on strategies for accessing the curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 for children with autism.
	The Department, through its Autism Working Group, is beginning to develop an ASD resource pack for schools, including mainstream secondary schools. The pack will complement the Good Practice Guidance by giving practical advice to schools on meeting the needs of children with ASDs and will be developed as part of the SEN strategy's Inclusion Development Programme in association with the National Primary and Secondary Strategies.

Pupils: Jewellery

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to education authorities on the wearing by school pupils of purity rings.

Jim Knight: [holding answer 6 February 2007: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on 13 June 2006,  Official Report, column1099W. School governing bodies determine school uniform policy and dress codes under powers conferred by the 1998 School Standards and Framework Act. The Department's guidance does not specifically mention jewellery with religious significance, but states that in deciding the format of their uniform, governors should have regard to their responsibilities under anti-discrimination legislation. It also states that in setting a policy, the school should be sensitive to pupil's cultural and religious needs and differences.

Schools: Hendon

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much his Department has made available for capital expenditure in Hendon schools since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his plans are for future capital investment in schools in Hendon; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which schools in Hendon received capital funding directly from his Department in each year since May 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what capital funding was made available to Barnet education authority in each year since 1996-97; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department maintains central records on allocations to local authorities, not constituencies. Accordingly, these questions are answered in respect of Barnet education authority. Allocations made available for investment in Barnet schools since 1997 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 1.8 
			 1998-99 5.6 
			 1999-2000 3.9 
			 2000-01 11.9 
			 2001-02 7.5 
			 2002-03 15.9 
			 2003-04 12.0 
			 2004-05 18.5 
			 2005-06 15.1 
			 2006-07 41.5 
		
	
	The large allocation in 2006-07 includes £28.4 million for a one school pathfinder, at East Barnet secondary school, part of the Building Schools for the Future programme.
	Allocations of £13.6 million are planned for 2007-08, and allocations to local authorities for further years will be announced later this year.
	Schools in Barnet which have received ring-fenced funding from the Department since 1997, in addition to East Barnet secondary school, are as follows; Targeted capital funding (TCF) allocations of £2.7 million in 2002-03 for development of the Compton school, £6.8 million in 2004-05 for Akiva primary school, and £4.4 million in 2005-06 for a school for the future at West Hendon.
	In addition each local authority is required, from its allocations, to give schools devolved formula capital (DFC) for their own use. Guidelines on how local authorities should calculate DFC are set out in the following website link:
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9824.
	The majority of funding the Department allocates to local authorities is allocated by them between schools in accordance with their own priorities.

Secondary Education: Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average amount spent by  (a) his Department and  (b) local education authorities was on each full-time pupil attending secondary school in England in each year from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The following table gives the information requested on the average amount spent by the Department and local education authorities on each full-time pupil attending secondary school in England in each year from 2003-04 to 2006-07.
	 (a) The revenue funding figures per pupil aged 11 to 15 for England for years 2003-04 to 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 4,370 4,540 4,730 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27 September 2006 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements. Figures include the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 11 to 15 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DfES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 6. Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 7. The revenue funding per pupil figures only run to 2005-06 because we cannot provide a consistent time series beyond that year as the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The 2004-05 and 2005-06 figures are based on education formula spending (EFS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In 2006-07 funding for schools changed with the introduction of the DSG which is based largely on an authority's previous spending. 8. In addition, DSG has a different coverage to EFS: EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means we have a break in our time series as the two sets of data are not comparable, an alternative time series is currently under development. 9. To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, we have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. 
		
	
	There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures. These cash figures for all funded pupils aged three to 15 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2005-06 Baseline  2006-07 DSG 
			 England 3,411 3,643 
		
	
	As the DSG is just a mechanism for distributing funding there is not a primary/secondary split available.
	 (b) The funding which individual schools receive via their school budget shares is a matter for individual local authorities to decide locally through their own local funding formulae (subject to satisfying the minimum funding guarantee for schools from 2004-05 onwards). The amount of revenue funding allocated to secondary schools per pupil at the start of financial year by local authorities is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Total budget share plus grants( 1)  per pupil( 2)  allocated( 3)  to local authority maintained secondary schools( 4)  in England—2003-04 to 2006-07. These figures are in real terms: 2005-06 prices( 6) : 
			   £ 
			   Secondary school budget share plus grants per pupil( 1,2,3,4,5) 
			   
			 2003-04(1) 3,380 
			 2004-05 3,530 
			 2005-06 3,750 
			 2006-07 3,990 
			 (1) Budget share plus grants is the combination of the schools individual budget share plus any revenue grants allocated to the school at the start of the financial year. In 2003-04, the amount of Excellence in Cities (EiC) grant allocated to individual schools was not recorded on the Section 52 budget statements and is therefore excluded from the figures for that year. The EiC grant allocated to secondary schools accounts for 36 and 41 of the respective 2004-05 and 2005-06 per pupil totals (EiC no longer existed as a separate grant in 2006-07). (2) The pupil numbers used to calculate the per pupil amounts are as reported by the local authority on their Section 52 budget statement comprising of the full time equivalent number pupils registered at the school used for the initial determination of the school's budget share under the local authority's allocation formula. (3) The amount of money allocated to a school depends very much on the individual local authorities' own policy for funding their schools. Different authorities retain varying amounts of funding centrally to spend on behalf of their schools while others chose to give schools more autonomy over how they spend their money by devolving more funding to the individual school. (4) All schools are as deemed by the local authority on their Section 52 budget statement. Hence middle deemed secondary schools are included in the figures for secondary schools. Secondary figures also include any LSC funding and LSC pupils for schools with 6th forms. (5) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum due to rounding. 6 Cash figures are adjusted to 2005-06 prices using the December 2006 GDP deflators.  Source: The data are drawn from local authorities' Section 52 budget statements (Table 2) submitted to the Department for Education and Skills.

Teenage Pregnancy

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in delivering the Government's strategy to combat teenage pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We are making steady progress In reducing England's teenage pregnancy rate. The latest data shows that between 1998 and 2004 the under-18 rate fell by 11.1 per cent. and the under-16 rate fell by 15.2 per cent. Both rates are now at their lowest levels for 20 years.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her counterparts in  (a) Germany,  (b) France and  (c) the USA on Iran's (i) potential to launch rockets into space and (ii) plans for an inter-continental ballistic missile.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed Iran'' space programme or reported intercontinental ballistic missile ambitions with her French, German and US counterparts, but Ministers and officials have discussed other issues relating to Iran's missile programme, including in the context of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1737. We are very concerned by reports that Iran is seeking to develop longer-range ballistic missile systems. UNSCR 1737 imposes sanctions against the Iranian missile programme, including a ban on the export to and import from Iran of certain relevant goods and technologies and an asset freeze against listed individuals and entities involved in missile related activity.

Sri Lanka

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have applied for entry clearance to the UK from Sri Lanka in each of the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: The information requested by the hon. Member is as follows:
	
		
			   Applications received 
			 1996 11,796 
			 1997 12,288 
			 1998 14,594 
			 1999 18,449 
			 2000 21,288 
		
	
	After 2000, UKvisas published statistics were produced according to the financial year rather than the calendar year.
	
		
			  Financial year  Applications received 
			 2001-02 21,932 
			 2002-03 21,831 
			 2003-04 30,376 
			 2004-05 28,937 
			 2005-06 28,215 
			  Source: UKvisas Published Statistics  Date: 1 February 2007 
		
	
	UKvisas makes every effort to ensure that statistics produced from our 'Central Reference System' are accurate. However, the complexity of our global business, including technical failures or occasional inconsistencies in data entry across any of over 150 offices, means we cannot 100 per cent. guarantee accuracy.

Constituencies: Statistics

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has to produce data for the new constituency areas once the order implementing the Boundary Commission's recommendations has been laid; and whether he has issued guidance to the ONS on the production of statistics for the new constituencies.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Departmental Manpower

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change in the number of employees in each  (a) region and  (b) county there has been for his Department, its agencies and public bodies, in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06; what percentage of the total change was accounted for by each (A) region and (B) county; and what share of total employment in each (1) region and (2) county his Department's employees represented at (y) 1 April 2004 and (z) 31 March 2006.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Marriage

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which religions and other groups' representatives are empowered to perform marriages; what the process is for such empowerment; what account is taken of human rights legislation on discrimination in this process; and what representations he has received on this subject.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.

Tax Burden

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross annual income was taken in tax and national insurance contributions for each decile of the taxable income distribution in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Casino Advisory Panel

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in which locations the Casino Advisory Panel held its last five meetings.

Richard Caborn: The information requested is provided in the minutes of the relevant Casino Advisory Panel meetings, which are available on the panel's website (www.culture.gov.uk/cap/). The locations for the meetings were as follows:
	
		
			   Location 
			 29 August 2006 London 
			 25 September 2006 London 
			 8 November 2006 Rye(1) 
			 6 December 2006 Manchester(2) 
			 19 January 2007 London 
			 (1) Meeting continued on 15 November 2006 in Manchester. (2) Meeting continued on 8 December 2006 at the Birmingham NEC.

Cultural Heritage: Grants

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money has been spent on  (a) libraries,  (b) archives and  (c) museums and galleries in each year since 1997, broken down into grant in aid and lottery funding.

David Lammy: holding answer 5 February 2007
	The information is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Grant in aid( 1, 2) 
			  £ million 
			   Museums and Galleries( 3)  Libraries( 4)  Archives( 4, 5) 
			 1997-98 216.7 106.7 1.0 
			 1998-99 211.2 90.6 1.0 
			 1999-2000 215.3 113.3 1.1 
			 2000-01 227.5 105.8 1.2 
			 2001-02 239.7 122.6 1.3 
			 2002-03 265.8 123.9 1.4 
			 2003-04 279.9 129.4 0.1 
			 2004-05 283.2 138.7 0.1 
			 2005-06 344.3 112.1 0.1 
			 (1) Museums, Libraries and Archives Council spend that cannot be directly attributed to one of the three domains is excluded from the table. (2) The table does not include Local Government public expenditure on the three domains. (3) Arts Council England also provides some funding for galleries. However these figures are not held in the format required. (4 )The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) does not record data separately for libraries and archives and hence these figures are excluded In total, the NHMF has awarded £8.3 million to libraries and archives between 1997 and 2006. (5) The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts became part of The National Archives from 1 April 2003, reporting to Ministers in the Department for Constitutional Affairs. 
		
	
	
		
			  Lottery awards 
			  £ million 
			   Museums and Galleries( 1, 2, 3)  Libraries and archives(  2, 3, 4) 
			 1997-98 117.2 12.3 
			 1998-99 116.9 29.2 
			 1999-2000 79.4 13.4 
			 2000-01 78.3 31.9 
			 2001-02 90.6 35.5 
			 2002-03 99.9 75.8 
			 2003-04 93.7 86.6 
			 2004-05 121.4 48.5 
			 2005-06 103.8 13.4 
			 (1) Arts Council England also provides some funding for galleries. However these figures are not held in the format required. (2) The Millennium Commission also provided funding for museums and galleries, libraries and archives. However these figures are not available in the format required. (3) Heritage Lottery Fund, New Opportunities Fund and Big Lottery Fund programmes, where spend can be directly attributed to these three domains (museums, libraries and archives) is included. (4 )The Heritage Lottery Fund does not record data separately for libraries and archives.

Digital Broadcasting

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what basis her Department calculated that £600 million will be needed from the licence fee for digital switch-over; and if she will place the calculations in the Library.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 5 February 2007
	DCMS has developed a model for costing the digital switchover help scheme with the BBC and HMT. The costings make a number of assumptions including: household growth for people over 75; DWP forecasts of numbers receiving underlying benefits; equipment costs; level of help required and scheme take up rates.
	This information is currently commercially confidential but a paper will be placed in the Libraries of both houses once all the necessary contractual arrangements for the delivery of the help scheme have been finalised.

Digital Broadcasting: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions have been made to facilitate digital switchover in Eastbourne.

Shaun Woodward: Presently, the vast majority of households in the constituency should be able to receive digital TV services via either digital satellite or digital terrestrial (Freeview).
	Ofcom estimate that from switchover (which will take place during 2012 for the region), coverage of digital terrestrial television will be increased to substantially match that currently achieved by analogue services (this is taken to equate to 98.5 per cent. of UK households).

Tourism

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many holiday trips were made to each of the 30 most visited towns and cities in the latest year for which figures are available  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by age group of visitor.

Shaun Woodward: The following tables contain the latest available information on overnight holiday trips to the top 30 visited towns and cities in the UK by overseas and UK residents, respectively. For inbound tourism information on the age of the visitor is also provided, but due to the disproportionate cost involved this is not available for domestic tourism.
	
		
			  Table 1: Holiday visits by overseas residents, 2005 
			Age group of visitor 
			  Top towns/cities  Total visits (Thousand)  0-15  16-24  25-34  35-44  45-54  55-64  65+ 
			 London 5,859 439 1,002 1,419 1,108 995 593 302 
			 Edinburgh 648 51 89 139 96 111 99 63 
			 Manchester 141 11 22 33 30 24 15 6 
			 Birmingham 119 19 20 24 17 27 6 7 
			 Glasgow 329 18 49 68 58 48 43 44 
			 Liverpool 107 6 31 25 22 12 6 5 
			 Oxford 153 22 39 22 15 21 25 9 
			 Cambridge 101 9 22 16 15 15 16 7 
			 Bristol 101 4 12 14 12 19 23 17 
			 Brighton and Hove 155 35 32 19 21 22 13 12 
			 Nottingham 49 2 3 16 13 10 3 3 
			 Cardiff 79 14 9 8 8 13 12 15 
			 Bath 149 25 13 15 22 28 31 16 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 65 9 14 12 9 10 7 5 
			 York 135 13 19 16 22 24 27 15 
			 Inverness 180 11 21 36 29 32 33 17 
			 Leeds 26 0 5 8 4 3 1 4 
			 Reading 32 0 3 13 8 4 2 2 
			 Coventry 22 1 — 6 6 2 5 2 
			 Luton 27 1 — 10 9 7 — — 
			 Chester 54 6 5 6 5 12 12 7 
			 Sheffield 24 2 2 9 4 1 4 3 
			 Northampton Z7 4 3 6 3 Z 3 5 
			 Leicester 25 1 2 5 3 12 3 1 
			 Exeter 58 5 4 5 7 13 13 11 
			 Southampton 28 1 2 11 3 5 5 2 
			 Bournemouth 45 7 3 5 8 4 11 7 
			 Canterbury 72 6 17 11 13 17 5 4 
			 Aberdeen 55 2 3 10 9 8 15 8 
			 Plymouth 43 6 7 5 6 8 6 6 
			  Source: International Passenger Survey. Holiday visits are where holiday has been stated as the main reason for the visit to the UK. They do not include those to visits friends or relatives or day trips. Many segments on the table provided are supported by very low sample sizes and so some results will be subject to very wide margins of error. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Holiday trips by UK residents. May 2005-April 2006 
			  Top towns/cities  Trips (Thousand) 
			 London 4,884 
			 Blackpool 1,626 
			 Edinburgh 1,365 
			 Manchester 1,286 
			 Scarborough 1,220 
			 Glasgow 1,088 
			 York 1,064 
			 Isle of Wight(1) 992 
			 Skegness 960 
			 Birmingham 951 
			 Bournemouth 860 
			 Bristol 787 
			 Liverpool 734 
			 Great Yarmouth 727 
			 Cardiff 726 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 701 
			 Leeds 660 
			 Brighton and Hove 645 
			 Torquay 587 
			 Nottingham 572 
			 Norwich 458 
			 Sheffield 445 
			 Harrogate 438 
			 Hull 424 
			 Oxford 411 
			 Aberdeen 399 
			 Southampton 376 
			 Portsmouth 356 
			 Cambridge 333 
			 Coventry 201 
			 (1 )For this analysis Isle of Wight is shown as information is not available at a lower level of geography.  Note: Domestic day trips are not included.  Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey

Family Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to review the operation of the family justice system.

Harriet Harman: The family justice system is under constant consideration and review including implementation of the recommendations of the recent view of child care proceedings In England and Wales and taking forward the programme of action detailed in the Government's 2005 statement, Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parent's Responsibilities: Next Steps. The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 will commence implementation in July 2007, and further specialist domestic violence courts are being established across England and Wales. Implementation of the Children and Adoption Act 2006 will give the courts additional powers to enforce contact orders. The Unified Family Service programme will enable family cases to progress more effectively through the system. I am also considering the responses to two recent consultations on the separate representation of children in family justice and on greater openness in the family courts.
	Taken together, these demonstrate clearly my commitment to improving the family justice system. I intend to make an announcement to the House on the Department's strategy for family justice shortly.

Justices Clerks

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many justices clerks there were in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The number of justices clerks employed in each year since 1997 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of working justices clerks( 1) 
			 1997 190 
			 1998 179 
			 1999 171 
			 2000 160 
			 2001 139 
			 2002 118 
			 2003 91 
			 2004 83 
			 2005 71 
			 2006 70 
			 2007 69 
			 (1) The figures between 1997 to 2005 are approximate and are based on the records my Department inherited from the former magistrates courts committees (MCCs). 
		
	
	Up until 1 April 2005, the number of justices clerks posts were determined by MCCs. Factors affecting numbers included:
	the change in the definition of a justices clerks responsibilities in 2000 from, a legal and management role to a purely legal management role (which led to some MCCs, including the former GLMCA, reviewing their local structures and the number of justices clerks required); and
	a desire to move to larger, and in some cases single, clerkships to ensure that legal advisers from across the criminal justice areas were provided with a greater consistency of advice.

Magistrates

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates there were in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: Figures were compiled on a calendar year basis until 2001 after which they were compiled on a financial year basis. The figures for 2002 do not include the Duchy of Lancaster.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 30,374 
			 1998 30,361 
			 1999 30,260 
			 2000 30,308 
			 2001 28,735 
			 2001-02 24,526 
			 2002-03 28,344 
			 2003-04 28,029 
			 2004-05 28,300 
			 2005-06 28,865 
			 2006-07 (1)29,582 
			 (1) Serving magistrates as of 7 February 2007.

Magistrate Courts: Training

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many training days were offered at magistrates courts in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: Until April 2005 42 independent magistrates courts Committees (MCC) had responsibility for magistrates training. As a result no national data on magistrate training exists prior to April 2005.
	Since April 2005 the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), initially on behalf of the Lord Chancellor and since April 2006 on behalf of the Lord Chief Justice, has taken on a strengthened role in magistrate training. As part of its monitoring and evaluation function the JSB has begun to collect data about magistrate training but this is not yet complete. The data provided by Magistrates Area Training Committees (MATCs) to date is as follows:
	2005-06, there is no data on the number of training days or events offered, but MATCs reported a total of 56,915 magistrate attendances at training events.
	2006-07, MATCs planned to deliver 2,294 training events (approximately 10,197 hours)
	2007-08, MATCs plan to deliver 2,220 training events (approximately 13,231 hours)

Magistrates Courts: Wales

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which magistrates' courts in Wales have  (a) closed and  (b) opened in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Up until 1 April 2005, magistrates courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates courts committees who were not required by statute to inform the Department of any magistrates court closures unless they were subject to an appeal under section 56 (3) of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 (now repealed).
	Table  (a) and table  (b) detail the magistrates courts in Wales that the Department has been informed of closing and opening in each year since 1997 respectively.
	There are two new magistrates courthouses planned for Caernarfon and Aberystwyth due for completion in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
	
		
			  (a) Magistrates court closures 
			   Courthouse closed 
			 1997 Pontardawe (South Wales) 
			 1997 Bargoed (Gwent) 
			 1997 Monmouth (Gwent) 
			 1997 Pontlottyn (Gwent) 
			 1997 Pontypool (Gwent) 
			 1998 Corwen (North Wales) 
			 2000 Abergele (North Wales) 
			 2003 Machynlleth (Dyfed Powys) 
			 2003 Lampeter (Dyfed Powys) 
			 2003 Tenby (Dyfed Powys) 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Magistrates court openings 
			   Courthouse opened 
			 2003 Haverfordwest (Dyfed Powys)

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will provide a breakdown of how the £74 million grant announced in her Department's news release of 19 December 2006 will be used to tackle domestic violence; and whether this funding is separate to that referred to by the Prime Minister in his answer of 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 302, on domestic violence.

Yvette Cooper: £74 million homelessness funding for 2007-08 is allocated to local authorities and the voluntary sector to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness. It includes a target to reduce the number of households living in temporary accommodation and to tackle the wider symptoms and causes of homelessness, including action on health, employment, relationship breakdown (including as a result of domestic violence), and other associated issues. Grants to local authorities are not ring-fenced and therefore it is for them to determine how homelessness funding is used to best tackle and prevent homelessness.
	A survey of local authorities undertaken by DCLG in September 2005 showed that 120 local authorities had a Sanctuary Scheme in place and that a further 165 plan to have one in place by March 2007.
	This money is different to the £70 million mentioned by the Prime Minister on 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 302.

Housing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she plans to take toward ensuring zero carbon emissions in all new housing by 2017.

Angela Smith: The proposals the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published on 13 December 2006 set out our draft strategy for moving to zero carbon new homes by 2016. The consultation period on these proposals closes on 8 March 2007, and during this period there are several speaking engagements and seminars at which we will set out the proposals to stakeholders and other interested parties. The hon. Member for Pontefract & Castleford also established a small taskforce chaired jointly with Stewart Baseley from the Home Builders Federation to examine and address any barriers to implementation of the zero carbon homes standard. We expect to publish the final proposals later this year.

PPS3

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes the new version of Planning Policy Statement 3 made to the planning regulations for development on  (a) former and  (b) existing airfields.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) does not change the status of airfields compared to Planning Policy Guidance 3 (PPG3), or policies in relation to their development.
	PPG3 said that where a building occupies only a small proportion of a previously-developed site, and the remainder is open land, then it would not normally be appropriate to develop to the boundary of the site.
	PPS3 continues this approach. It includes a clear statement that there is no presumption that previously-developed land is necessarily suitable for housing development, nor that the whole of the curtilage should be developed.

Safer Stronger Communities Fund

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by programme expenditure from the Safer Stronger Communities Fund initiative in the  (a) Eastern,  (b) East Midlands,  (c) London,  (d) North East,  (e) North West,  (f) South East,  (g) South West and  (h) West Midlands regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The Safer Stronger Community Fund is a fund pooled by two Government Departments, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Home Office.
	
		
			  Funding for 2006-07 
			  Region  Home Office  Department for Communities and Local Government  Total 
			 East  (a) 8,544,389 7,240,194 15,784,583 
			 East Midlands  (b) 7,834,593 8,644,024 16,478,617 
			 London  (c) 14,708,771 15,421,877 30,130,648 
			 North East  (d) 5,059,314 16,040,444 21,099,758 
			 North West  (e) 13,103,944 33,775,551 46,879,495 
			 South East  (f) 13,181,292 4,018,287 17,199,579 
			 South West  (g) 8,663,422 7,033,647 15,697,069 
			 West Midlands  (h) 9,819,323 9,614,249 19,433,572 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber(1) 8,826,537 16,848,085 25,674,622 
			 Total 89,741,585 118,636,358 208,377,943 
			 (1 )Although information was not requested figures are included for Yorkshire and the Humber region to give whole of England amount.

Street Markets

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps the Department is taking to support and develop the role of local street markets in helping deliver its policy objectives on regenerating and sustaining communities; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what policies are being developed to enhance and support the development of street markets as part of out-of-town developments;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the potential role of local street markets in town centre regeneration and in providing opportunities for local economic development and employment; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government recognises the valuable contribution that street markets can make to local choice and diversity in shopping, and the vitality of town centres, but it is for local authorities to decide how they achieve that local choice and diversity, taking account of the national policy framework.
	To support and develop the role of street markets, national planning policy, in "Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres" (PPS6), asks local authorities to consider markets as an integral part of the vision for their town centres, and to seek to retain and enhance existing markets and, where appropriate, re-introduce or create new ones. Local authorities are encouraged to ensure that their markets remain attractive and competitive by investing in their improvement.
	PPS6 asks local authorities to assess the need for retail development, as a context for planning for town centres, and to ensure that there are sites available to provide for this need. We would expect local authorities to take account of the role of street markets in carrying out this assessment.
	Planning policy does not specifically promote street markets as part of out-of-town developments. PPS6 promotes policies which will support the vitality and viability of existing town centres. But local authorities are encourage to plan more widely for people's day-to-day needs and to seek to remedy deficiencies in local shopping and other facilities where appropriate, working with local communities and stakeholders. This could include promoting local street markets.

Wandsworth Borough Council: Finance

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated to Wandsworth council by the Government in each of the last 15 years, broken down into  (a) ringfenced and  (b) non-ringfenced funding.

Phil Woolas: The amount of revenue funding allocated to Wandsworth council by the Government between 1997-98 and 2005-06, broken down into  (a) ringfenced and  (b) non-ringfenced funding is given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   (a) Ringfenced  (b) Non-ringfenced  Other grants not separately identified  Total( 1) 
			 1997-98 8.2 201.3 0.0 209.5 
			 1998-99 12.0 196.0 0.0 208.1 
			 1999-00 16.4 201.6 0.6 218.6 
			 2000-01 25.3 203.8 0.4 229.5 
			 2001-02 32.3 208.0 0.4 240.7 
			 2002-03 37.2 210.6 0.5 248.3 
			 2003-04 51.1 224.4 4.1 279.6 
			 2004-05 39.9 242.1 4.0 285.9 
			 2005-06 32.8 261.9 5.3 300.1 
			 (1 )May not sum due to rounding  Source:  Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn returns 
		
	
	A breakdown of ringfenced and non-ringfenced funding is not supplied prior to 1997-98 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because a classification of grants as ringfenced or non-ringfenced is not held centrally for years before 1997-98.
	Revenue funding includes all grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services), and includes formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed business rates) and all specific grants.
	The figures exclude grants outside AEF such as housing benefit subsidy, capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Construction

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution to the UK economy was made by the construction industry in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Trade and Industry is responsible for statistics on construction in Great Britain only. The total value of public and private housebuilding in Great Britain in 1997-2005 was:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Current prices  Constant (2000) prices 
			 1997 7,983 9,911 
			 1998 8,430 9,791 
			 1999 8,419 8,884 
			 2000 9,985 9,985 
			 2001 10,234 9,420 
			 2002 12,089 9,933 
			 2003 15,362 11,205 
			 2004 19,447 12,763 
			 2005 21,063 13,072 
		
	
	Data for 2006 will be published on 2 March 2007
	Current prices series is the price prevailing in the relevant year.
	Constant (2000) prices series show the change in construction after the effects of inflation have been removed. This information is published in the Construction Statistics Annual 2006, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Expenditure

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure by his Department on buying, operating and supporting  (a) all commercial software products and  (b) software products produced by Microsoft was in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Due to a change in the Department's accounting system during 2003-04 and the devolved nature of the ICT (Information Community Technology) until April 2006, consistent information to answer the PQ fully cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which fixed assets his Department sold for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry did not sell any assets for more than £10,000 during the financial years, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to implement the Race Equality Duty since 2000.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry is working on its Equality Scheme covering the gender duty with a view to publication before the 30 April deadline. This scheme will provide the framework by which DTI will seek to implement the duty into all its functions.

Employment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to promote effective relations between employers and employees.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 6 February 2007
	Employers and employees both have a stake in creating good workplaces and it is the Department's aim to encourage effective two-way communication which facilitates the achievement of high performance workplaces.
	 The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations
	Employees in larger organisations have the right to be informed and consulted on changes in the place for which they work. The Department is committed to championing such arrangements and in 2006, it contacted 12,000 companies to highlight the benefits of ongoing, two-way communication between employers and employees. Efforts to date include regional road-show events, interviews, articles, briefing and speeches, guidance, and the creation of a dedicated website to deliver Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) training workshops and company visits to share best practice on how to draw up effective arrangements with their employees.
	A further awareness campaign is planned by end February 2007 to raise awareness when these rights are extended to the employees of approximately 8,000 medium-sized companies in April 2007. The Department's efforts are co-ordinated with those of the ACAS, Business Link to ensure that practical advice is available to businesses, and Direct.Gov for employees.
	 Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
	The Department funds the regionally-based ACAS whose aim is to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. ACAS provides services that include information provision, advice and training, and individual and collective dispute resolution on employment issues.
	In 2006-07 its National helpline is expected to have dealt with about 900,000 employment-related calls, conciliated in about 1,000 collective disputes and 160,000 individual actual or potential tribunal claims, delivered about 3,000 training sessions on employment issues, and trained more than 200 delegates to operate their own mediation service. Their website is expected to have received about 2.5 million visits for information from employers and employees and HR and legal professionals among others. In addition ACAS are expected to have delivered over 200 workplace projects during the year to improve employment relations and practices.
	 Partnership Fund
	The Department has supported over 250 projects under the Partnership/Strategic Partnership Fund. The fund has supported the development of industrial relations by encouraging employers and employees to work together effectively.
	Projects supported under the fund include workplace partnership projects within individual organisations, and strategic projects, which reach out beyond single company projects to address sectoral and regional issues.
	The Union Modernisation Fund provides financial assistance to independent trade unions and their federations in support of projects which speed unions' adaptation to a changing labour market and new ways of working. This will enhance unions' ability to make a full and effective contribution to constructive employment relations and to the economy as a whole.

Flexible Working

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage industry to offer flexible working schemes to employees.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government encourage all types of flexible working across the work force by providing detailed guidance, promoting the benefits and encouraging the sharing of best practice. In addition. Business Link provides practical support and advice for employers on starting, maintaining and growing a business. Employers and employees can also access advice from the Acas website and telephone helpline.
	The right to request flexible working has been a great success since its introduction in April 2003 for parents of young children: some 5.4 million employees now work through some form of flexible working arrangement, and employers accept four out of five requests to work flexibly.
	We are working with stakeholders to ensure high levels of awareness of new family-friendly measures being introduced under the Work and Families Act 2006, including an extension of the right to request flexible working to carers of adults. This will confer the right on a further 2.65 million employees.

Insolvency: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were declared insolvent in Suffolk in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Regional insolvency statistics are only available on the basis of the locations of Official Receivers offices, each of which cover a group of county courts where the cases are heard and the courts having jurisdiction over these. It is not possible to provide bankruptcy statistics by constituency, county or Government office region.
	The following table provides the bankruptcy order statistics considered to be closest to those of interest, but they should not be treated as reliable estimates for the administrative geographies requested.
	
		
			  Bankruptcy order statistics 
			   Ipswich OR's office( 1)  Anglia region (OR-based) 
			 2005 836 7,133 
			 2006 1,239 9,520 
			 (1) Ipswich's OR's office covers the following county courts: Sudbury, St. Osyth, Ipswich, Colchester and Clacton, Braintee.

Renewable Energy

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he has received about the efficacy of wind power by comparison with renewable alternatives in terms of megawatt per hour produced.

Malcolm Wicks: There is a wealth of information about the ability of wind generation to deliver significant amounts of green megawatts. For example, the Renewables Innovation Review, carried out in 2004 by DTI and the Carbon Trust, concludes that wind power is able to deliver almost all the required growth in renewable energy to meet the target of 10 per cent. renewables by 2010, and is likely to continue to be the dominant renewable energy technology until 2020. It is the most economic renewable technology for which there is significant additional capacity in the UK and will remain so for some time to come. In order to support emerging low carbon technologies, other than onshore wind, reach commercial viability over the long-term, the Government are investing around £500 million, between 2002 and 2008, in capital grants and research and development.
	The following table shows a comparison of the amount of electricity generated by different renewable sources. The efficacy of renewable sources cannot be expressed in megawatt per hour produced because this does not take account of the size or capacity of plants.
	
		
			  Generation by renewable sources of electricity 
			  Generation (MWh)  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Onshore wind(1) 944,928 960,144 1,251,243 1,275,506 1,736,394 2,505,336 
			 Offshore wind 900 4,965 4,833 9,870 198,715 402,735 
			 Hydro((2—)CHECK) 5,085,253 4,055,709 4,787,920 3,228,000 4,930,000 4,961,026 
			 Biofuels and wastes (excluding co-firing) 4,401,091 5,054,250 5,338,400 6,099,824 6,863,553 7,087,317 
			 Total generation 10,433,439 10,076,888 11,385,094 10,615,815 13,732,196 14,964,589 
			 (1) Actual generation figures are given where available, but otherwise are estimated using a typical load factor or the design load factor, where known. (2) Excluding pumped storage stations. Capacities are as at the end of December 2005.  Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2006.

Renewables Obligation System

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on the renewables obligation system.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has regular discussions with Ofgem on matters concerning our renewable energy targets. We have received, from a wind range of interest groups and organisations, including Ofgem, a total of 206 responses to our consultation document: "Reform of the Renewables Obligation and Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order" 2007. All responses will be taken into account when formulating our policies for future support of renewable electricity generation.

Street Lighting

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential for reduction of energy use in street lighting; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	Provision of street lighting in England, on local roads, is a matter for individual highway authorities, and the Department for Transport has made no formal assessment of the potential for energy savings in street lighting.
	The Department endorses "Well-lit Highways", the code of practice on highway lighting management (December 2004, TSO) published by the UK Lighting Board. The Board, in conjunction with the Institution of Lighting Engineers, has also produced "Invest to Save", which provides guidance to local authorities considering adopting energy saving measures such as dimming or mid-night switching-off of lights. The effects of reducing lighting levels or turning lights off will vary from case to case. Any financial or environmental savings from reduced energy use would have to be balanced against potential adverse effects, for example on accidents or crime.
	The Highways Agency is currently reviewing all its standards for the provision of road lighting on the strategic road network, which will mean less new lighting being installed in future. The agency's review work also includes the development of an energy strategy for the management of existing lighting, which could include reduced lighting levels, and switching off lighting when roads are lightly trafficked. Trials are expected to start in 2007.

CATS Service

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1583W, on the Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Service, what steps she has taken to ensure value for money in the Capture, Assess, Treat and Support system;
	(2)  how many bidders have tendered for the Clinical Assessment, Treatment and Support (CATS) service in Preston; what contracts have been signed for such provision; and what guarantees have been given to private providers bidding for the CATS service in relation to patient referrals.

Andy Burnham: The clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) scheme aims to deliver best value to the local health economy by procuring cost effective triaging of general practitioners referrals and a range of diagnostics capacity.
	The scheme is part of the phase two independent sector treatment centre elective procurement. As part of the final approval process all schemes need to demonstrate to HM Treasury that they offer value for money when compared to equivalent costs in the national health service.
	From a pool of interested parties, four bidders were short-listed and issued an invitation to tender of which two bids were returned for the CATS scheme. No contracts have been signed the commercial terms are still under negotiation with Netcare as the preferred bidder in the negotiation. There are no guarantees in respect of the number of referrals. The commercial terms between the Department and the bidder are commercially sensitive.

Clostridium Difficile

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department has given to  (a) NHS hospitals,  (b) nursing and care homes,  (c) dentists,  (d) ambulance trusts,  (e) general practitioners and  (f) other hospitals on listing  clostridium difficile as the cause of death on official death certificates; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.

Delayed Discharges Reimbursement Scheme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2007,  Official Report, column 463W, on Delayed Discharges Reimbursement Scheme, what information her Department holds on the liabilities of local authorities to pay charges under the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003.

Ivan Lewis: The Department holds data on the number of reimbursable hospital bed days by local authority and national health service trust. Collection of these data began on 5 October2003 with the last available data being for the week ending 21 January 2007.
	The available data held by the Department have been placed in the Library.

Patient Choice Schemes: Eastern Region

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take up is of the choose and book system amongst primary care practices in each primary care trust in the East of England in the period for which figures have most recently been collected; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Uptake of choose and book amongst general practitioner (GP) practices in each primary care trust (PCT) in the East of England 
			  PCT name  Total GP practices( 1)  GP practices using choose and book( 2) 
			 North East Essex 44 37 
			 Norfolk 91 84 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney Teaching 27 24 
			 Bedfordshire 57 49 
			 Mid Essex 50 36 
			 Cambridgeshire 74 60 
			 South East Essex 69 57 
			 West Hertfordshire 65 52 
			 Luton 34 31 
			 Peterborough 33 26 
			 West Essex 40 29 
			 Suffolk 71 55 
			 South West Essex Teaching 84 45 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 62 33 
			 Total East of England PCTs 801 618 
			 (1) Total referring GP practices, as reported by the PCT in March 2006. (2) GP practices for which at least one live booking has been made through choose and book in the period 1 December 2006 to 29 January 2007. 
		
	
	National utilisation of choose and book currently stands at 37 per cent., (week ending 28 January 2007) with over 62,000 out-patient referrals booked through the service. While we are behind where we had originally anticipated in the "NHS Improvement Plan" and the choose and book full business case, the national health service has made significant progress and we are now confident that the emerging rate of implementation will see the continued roll out of choose and book through 2007. Latest figures show there are already PCTs with performance over 80 per cent., and a significant number of PCTs are achieving utilisation levels of over 50 per cent., which shows that it is possible to book the majority of referrals through the choose and book system.

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on advertising in respect of benefit fraud in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed on 8 June 2001 from parts of the former Department of Social Security, the former Department for Education and Employment, and the Employment Service. Information prior to 2001 is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Advertising expenditure in respect of benefit fraud is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Advertising spend (£000) 
			 2001-02 8,039 
			 2002-03 35 
			 2003-04 8,383 
			 2004-05 6,017 
			 2005-06 7,042 
			 2006-07(1) 2,517 
			 (1) The figure for 2006-07 represents advertising spend to date.  Notes 1. Figures are for the advertising spend on the Targeting Fraud (2001 to 2002) and Targeting Benefit Fraud (2003 to 2006) campaigns. 2. During 2002-03 there was no national campaign advertising. The figure Radio advertising to support ministerial visits. 3. All figures are exclusive of VAT. 4. The figures refer to media spend only, excluding production and other costs. 5. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total  (a) number and  (b) cost of bonuses paid to staff at the Child Support Agency were in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the right. hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 8 February 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total (a) number and (b) cost of bonuses paid to staff at the Child Support Agency were in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.
	There is no information available from the period 1997-2000 as this falls outside of the statutory requirements to keep accounting records that at present are mandated as six years.
	The Child Support Agency is part of the Department for Work and Pensions and operates Departmental bonus schemes. Over the period 2001 to 2006, three separate schemes for payment of bonuses have operated within the Child Support Agency.
	The attached table highlights the amounts paid as Special Bonuses, Makinson bonuses and Individual Performance Bonuses, and the number of separate payments made to individual members of staff as Special Bonuses and Makinson bonuses, between 2001-02 and 2005-06.
	The special bonus scheme and individual performance bonuses operated for the entire period within all parts of the Department of Work and Pensions. The guidelines, policy funding and framework for these schemes are set Departmentally.
	The Makinson bonus scheme was undertaken as part of a Treasury initiative to incentivise performance in the public sector by linking performance to reward. This scheme only ran for 2002-03 and 2003-04 and was trialled in three parts of the Department, one of which was the Child Support Agency. Incentive payments made under this scheme were funded directly by the Treasury.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Sums paid as special bonuses, Makinson bonuses and individual performance bonuses between 2001-02 and 2005-06 
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Total special bonus paid 395,000 457,000 455,000 450,000 559,000 
			 Total Makinson bonus paid — 9,190,000 3,440,000 — — 
			 Total individual performance paid 420,000 1,793,000 1,870,000 3,318,000 3,314,000 
			 Total—all bonuses 815,000 11,440,000 5,765,000 3,768,000 3,873,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of individual staff members who benefited from special bonuses, Makinson bonuses or individual performance bonuses between 2001-02 and 2005-06 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Number of special bonus payments made to individual members of staff 3,031 3,292 3,187 3,146 3,464 
			 Number of Makinson payments made to individual members of staff — 11,212 11,134 — — 
			 Numbers of individual performance bonuses made to individual members of staff 10,229 11,110 11,032 10,237 10,915

Child Support Agency

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the total amount paid in bonus payments to staff at the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 8 February 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his latest estimate is of the total amount paid in bonus payments to staff at the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001.
	The Child Support Agency is part of the Department for Work and Pensions and operates Departmental bonus schemes. Over the period from 2001 to 2006, three separate schemes for payment of bonuses have operated within the Child Support Agency.
	(1) Special Bonus—This scheme operated throughout 2001-2006. An individual may be awarded a one-off bonus outside the annual reward performance and development system exercise to recognise and reward exceptional personal achievement. This scheme operates in line with Treasury guidance and the payments in any one year are limited to 0.25% of the staffing budget.
	(2) Individual Performance Bonus—Bonuses linked to annual appraisal markings were available throughout the period 2001-2006. The Agency had no separate budget for these bonuses. The overall funding available, and the size of the individual bonuses, were determined through discussions with the Treasury about the DWP's pay remit, and then through negotiations with the unions.
	(3) Makinson—This scheme only operated in 2002 and 2003. It was funded directly by the Treasury and lay outside of the spending review settlement.
	The attached table highlights the amounts paid as Special Bonuses, Makinson bonuses and Individual Performance Bonuses for each of the last five years.
	The special bonus scheme and individual performance bonuses operated for the entire period within all parts of the Department for Work and Pensions. The guidelines, policy, funding and framework for theses scheme are set Departmentally.
	The Makinson bonus scheme was undertaken as part of a Treasury initiative to incentivise performance in the public sector by linking performance to reward. This scheme only ran for 2002-03 and 2003-04 and was trialled in three parts of the Department, one of which was the Child Support Agency.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Sums paid as Special Bonuses, Makinson Bonuses and Individual Performance Bonuses for each of the last five years 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Total Special Bonus paid (£000) 395 457 455 450 559 
			 Total Makinson Bonus paid (£000) — 9,190 3,440 — — 
			 Total Individual Performance Bonus paid (£000) 420 1,793 1,870 3,318 3,314 
			 Total—all bonuses (£000) 815 11,440 5,765 3,768 3,873 
			 CSA total staffing cost (£000) 181,501 209,984 215,551 218,869 239,553 
			 Bonuses as a percentage of total staffing costs 0.4 5.4 2.7 1.7 1.6

Child Support Agency

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many uncleared Child Support Agency applications there were in each month since May 1997, broken down by London borough; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 8 February 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many uncleared Child Support Agency applications there were in each month since May 1997 broken down by London borough; and if he will make a statement.
	I am sorry that it is not possible to provide all the information you have requested as the computer system in use from 1993 does not hold data at the level of individual boroughs for uncleared cases. It is possible to provide data held on the new computer system introduced in March 2003 at the level you request and this is shown in the attached tables. However as the two computer systems continue to run in parallel, the information provided does not present a complete picture of the total number of uncleared cases by London borough, nor is it representative of trends over the period. For example, whilst the figures provided imply a significant increase in the volumes of uncleared cases by London borough, it should be remembered that the majority of cases at the beginning of the period were actually on the old scheme and the old computer system, and hence not covered in the attached table.
	At a national level the total volume of uncleared applications was 334,500 in May 1999, the earliest month for which data is available, and this has fallen to 238,400 in December 2006. The Agency recognises that while the number of uncleared applications has fallen significantly, it remains unacceptably high, and our challenge, as set out in our Operational Improvement Plan, is that the Agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009.
	I hope you find this answer helpful despite my being unable to answer your question in full.
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in each London borough (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only), from March 2003 to December 2006 
			   2003 
			   March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 10 30 40 80 160 190 220 250 280 340 
			 Barnet 20 40 60 80 110 110 130 200 210 200 
			 Bexley 20 30 60 80 110 130 140 180 210 230 
			 Brent 10 10 30 40 70 100 160 220 260 280 
			 Bromley 20 50 90 140 180 190 200 220 260 280 
			 Camden 10 10 20 60 110 140 160 180 210 220 
			 Croydon 30 70 120 170 260 280 330 370 440 500 
			 Ealing 10 30 70 100 150 180 230 270 310 320 
			 Enfield 20 30 50 90 140 160 190 260 300 330 
			 Greenwich 20 40 60 90 140 170 210 290 340 380 
			 Hackney 20 20 40 50 70 80 100 130 240 240 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 10 20 40 70 110 130 170 190 210 230 
			 Haringey 10 30 60 130 200 250 280 320 380 400 
			 Harrow 10 20 30 40 60 80 90 140 160 160 
			 Havering 20 40 60 70 100 130 130 150 180 180 
			 Hillingdon 20 30 40 50 100 110 140 170 190 220 
			 Hounslow 20 40 70 80 130 170 210 230 250 260 
			 Islington 10 20 30 60 90 110 130 140 180 180 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 10 30 40 70 80 100 110 140 140 
			 Kingston upon Thames 10 20 30 40 40 50 50 70 70 70 
			 Lambeth 20 70 120 160 270 330 370 450 550 590 
			 Lewisham 20 60 120 150 230 260 300 340 400 410 
			 Merton 10 20 40 70 100 120 130 150 170 180 
			 Newham 10 30 60 90 180 210 250 320 400 410 
			 Redbridge 20 20 40 60 60 80 100 110 140 160 
			 Richmond upon Thames 10 20 30 40 60 60 70 70 60 70 
			 Southwark 10 70 100 160 250 280 310 370 450 470 
			 Sutton 10 30 40 60 90 100 120 130 160 170 
			 Tower Hamlets 10 30 50 60 120 140 140 160 170 180 
			 Waltham Forest 20 40 50 60 70 90 120 160 190 200 
			 Wandsworth 20 50 80 100 150 170 190 250 300 340 
			 Westminster 0 10 20 60 90 110 140 160 180 180 
			
			  London total  460  1,030  1,750  2,590  4,050  4,770  5,570  6,740  7,960  8,500 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 410 480 570 590 680 730 
			 Barnet 230 250 260 280 320 380 
			 Bexley 250 290 320 340 380 410 
			 Brent 310 340 350 370 420 450 
			 Bromley 330 360 430 480 540 590 
			 Camden 240 280 340 370 400 420 
			 Croydon 560 660 740 800 900 930 
			 Ealing 350 390 430 430 460 480 
			 Enfield 370 430 510 540 600 620 
			 Greenwich 410 480 600 640 720 770 
			 Hackney 270 310 370 400 430 460 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 240 270 310 340 360 390 
			 Haringey 430 490 550 590 650 670 
			 Harrow 180 210 240 250 280 310 
			 Havering 180 200 220 240 280 310 
			 Hillingdon 240 280 320 340 390 440 
			 Hounslow 290 320 340 400 430 460 
			 Islington 200 240 280 310 350 380 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 150 170 190 200 220 230 
			 Kingston upon Thames 80 80 100 100 120 120 
			 Lambeth 670 750 850 870 990 1070 
			 Lewisham 440 490 550 600 700 800 
			 Merton 200 220 250 280 330 350 
			 Newham 450 490 570 600 630 640 
			 Redbridge 220 280 330 340 390 410 
			 Richmond upon Thames 80 80 100 120 130 140 
			 Southwark 540 590 680 710 810 870 
			 Sutton 190 200 210 230 260 280 
			 Tower Hamlets 190 220 250 260 290 290 
			 Waltham Forest 250 300 380 410 470 500 
			 Wandsworth 380 430 520 550 610 660 
			 Westminster 190 240 270 290 330 330 
			
			  London total  9,480  10,800  1,2430  13,250  14,830  15,870 
		
	
	
		
			   2004 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 770 810 840 880 900 920 
			 Barnet 400 430 450 470 500 490 
			 Bexley 440 470 510 550 610 610 
			 Brent 480 490 500 520 540 550 
			 Bromley 640 670 710 770 800 830 
			 Camden 460 470 480 490 520 550 
			 Croydon 960 960 1,020 1,090 1,180 1,220 
			 Ealing 510 510 540 560 590 610 
			 Enfield 620 630 640 650 670 670 
			 Greenwich 810 850 880 920 980 1,010 
			 Hackney 470 530 580 620 660 660 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 420 440 460 480 510 520 
			 Haringey 680 700 730 740 770 780 
			 Harrow 320 340 350 370 420 420 
			 Havering 330 350 370 410 430 440 
			 Hillingdon 460 480 510 550 630 660 
			 Hounslow 520 560 590 650 700 690 
			 Islington 420 450 500 540 600 630 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 240 250 250 270 280 280 
			 Kingston upon Thames 140 140 160 170 180 180 
			 Lambeth 1,100 1,150 1,180 1,280 1,350 1,360 
			 Lewisham 840 890 950 1,040 1,150 1,170 
			 Merton 370 390 400 440 460 470 
			 Newham 660 670 700 730 740 760 
			 Redbridge 450 460 510 530 600 600 
			 Richmond upon Thames 150 170 180 200 210 210 
			 Southwark 920 1,000 1,070 1,150 1,220 1,250 
			 Sutton 290 300 330 370 380 390 
			 Tower Hamlets 300 310 330 340 350 370 
			 Waltham Forest 530 560 580 610 630 630 
			 Wandsworth 720 730 770 800 850 860 
			 Westminster 350 360 390 390 420 430 
			
			  London total  16,750  17,530  18,480  19,550  20,830  21,210 
		
	
	
		
			   2005 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 950 1000 980 980 1030 1040 
			 Barnet 500 490 520 520 540 640 
			 Bexley 630 670 660 640 650 650 
			 Brent 550 560 550 570 580 610 
			 Bromley 860 920 920 930 930 930 
			 Camden 540 550 550 570 600 600 
			 Croydon 1,260 1,380 1,410 1,480 1,520 1,580 
			 Ealing 640 670 710 760 780 770 
			 Enfield 680 680 720 730 740 810 
			 Greenwich 1,010 1,050 1,070 1,100 1,130 1,140 
			 Hackney 680 740 740 740 750 750 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 540 540 530 560 570 580 
			 Haringey 780 770 800 800 800 810 
			 Harrow 420 430 440 440 450 460 
			 Havering 450 490 480 490 500 530 
			 Hillingdon 670 680 680 670 680 700 
			 Hounslow 700 690 700 710 750 740 
			 Islington 660 680 720 740 770 770 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 290 290 310 310 310 310 
			 Kingston upon Thames 190 200 200 200 210 210 
			 Lambeth 1,410 1,490 1,500 1,540 1,610 1,670 
			 Lewisham 1,180 1,250 1,240 1,290 1,330 1,310 
			 Merton 480 530 560 540 540 560 
			 Newham 780 860 850 870 920 960 
			 Redbridge 630 660 680 750 760 780 
			 Richmond upon Thames 220 230 230 230 230 210 
			 Southwark 1,290 1,320 1,310 1,360 1,430 1,450 
			 Sutton 400 440 460 480 490 500 
			 Tower Hamlets 400 450 450 450 450 460 
			 Waltham Forest 630 670 670 710 710 720 
			 Wandsworth 860 900 900 890 920 930 
			 Westminster 440 440 450 470 470 460 
			
			  London total  21,720  22,710  22,970  23,520  24,120  24,640 
		
	
	
		
			   2005 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1040 1000 980 960 930 890 
			 Barnet 700 670 630 610 580 590 
			 Bexley 670 680 680 670 650 650 
			 Brent 620 630 620 640 640 630 
			 Bromley 900 890 860 810 780 770 
			 Camden 590 550 530 520 500 490 
			 Croydon 1,590 1,540 1,550 1,510 1,520 1,470 
			 Ealing 770 770 760 760 740 710 
			 Enfield 920 930 930 910 850 870 
			 Greenwich 1,130 1,090 1,060 1,060 1,070 1,050 
			 Hackney 730 720 700 690 680 650 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 590 580 580 570 550 530 
			 Haringey 880 880 880 870 820 840 
			 Harrow 470 480 530 520 510 490 
			 Havering 540 520 500 490 470 450 
			 Hillingdon 710 710 790 800 780 780 
			 Hounslow 710 680 640 630 600 580 
			 Islington 770 740 720 700 680 650 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 320 310 310 300 290 270 
			 Kingston upon Thames 210 210 210 200 190 180 
			 Lambeth 1,690 1,660 1,640 1,620 1,590 1,580 
			 Lewisham 1,320 1,280 1,300 1,270 1,230 1,190 
			 Merton 570 540 540 530 520 500 
			 Newham 980 940 910 930 910 870 
			 Redbridge 820 790 790 770 760 730 
			 Richmond upon Thames 210 210 210 210 200 180 
			 Southwark 1,490 1,460 1,450 1,480 1,450 1,440 
			 Sutton 520 500 520 520 500 470 
			 Tower Hamlets 470 450 450 460 440 420 
			 Waltham Forest 740 700 680 680 660 630 
			 Wandsworth 920 900 890 870 840 860 
			 Westminster 470 460 430 420 390 380 
			
			  London total  25,030  24,480  24,260  23,970  23,320  22,800 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 880 850 850 840 860 850 
			 Barnet 620 630 600 640 630 660 
			 Bexley 650 660 650 630 610 600 
			 Brent 610 660 670 670 660 640 
			 Bromley 740 750 740 720 700 690 
			 Camden 480 460 460 470 450 450 
			 Croydon 1,430 1,390 1,380 1,350 1,340 1360 
			 Ealing 730 720 740 750 740 730 
			 Enfield 840 840 810 890 970 990 
			 Greenwich 1,000 1,010 970 940 900 920 
			 Hackney 660 740 810 830 790 770 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 540 520 510 510 500 490 
			 Haringey 800 770 780 880 920 890 
			 Harrow 510 540 520 510 480 460 
			 Havering 450 460 450 470 480 460 
			 Hillingdon 790 850 820 770 750 740 
			 Hounslow 610 590 580 620 610 600 
			 Islington 650 650 660 690 670 640 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 280 260 260 260 260 260 
			 Kingston upon Thames 180 200 210 200 200 190 
			 Lambeth 1,550 1,550 1,480 1,440 1,410 1,400 
			 Lewisham 1,180 1,180 1,130 1,090 1,050 1,030 
			 Merton 490 470 450 450 420 440 
			 Newham 860 920 920 900 870 880 
			 Redbridge 730 730 720 700 720 730 
			 Richmond upon Thames 180 190 180 170 170 170 
			 Southwark 1,390 1,340 1,320 1,280 1,200 1,180 
			 Sutton 450 430 430 430 430 430 
			 Tower Hamlets 430 500 570 580 560 560 
			 Waltham Forest 640 640 660 660 740 750 
			 Wandsworth 840 850 810 790 770 740 
			 Westminster 390 380 370 380 380 380 
			
			  London total  22,560  22,720  22,500  22,500  22,230  22,080 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 City of London 10 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 830 800 780 780 770 790 
			 Barnet 660 640 620 620 630 610 
			 Bexley 610 610 580 580 590 560 
			 Brent 620 580 560 550 540 530 
			 Bromley 690 670 660 650 630 620 
			 Camden 450 440 420 420 410 430 
			 Croydon 1,360 1,310 1,280 1,290 1,280 1,270 
			 Ealing 710 700 690 670 670 710 
			 Enfield 980 960 920 880 870 880 
			 Greenwich 960 960 940 920 920 900 
			 Hackney 750 720 700 670 650 640 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 490 470 460 440 420 440 
			 Haringey 890 850 820 810 810 800 
			 Harrow 450 430 420 390 390 390 
			 Havering 440 440 410 420 430 440 
			 Hillingdon 710 720 710 690 670 680 
			 Hounslow 610 600 590 590 600 640 
			 Islington 640 620 590 580 590 600 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 250 240 240 220 220 230 
			 Kingston upon Thames 180 170 170 170 160 160 
			 Lambeth 1,370 1,340 1,320 1,300 1,310 1,280 
			 Lewisham 990 990 950 940 930 930 
			 Merton 440 430 420 400 410 410 
			 Newham 860 790 760 770 730 710 
			 Redbridge 730 710 700 690 680 680 
			 Richmond upon Thames 170 150 150 150 160 150 
			 Southwark 1,170 1,140 1,120 1,080 1,080 1,090 
			 Sutton 420 410 400 400 400 390 
			 Tower Hamlets 550 560 540 510 510 510 
			 Waltham Forest 750 720 720 710 700 710 
			 Wandsworth 720 720 710 680 690 700 
			 Westminster 370 350 340 340 340 350 
			
			  London total  21,820  21,230  20,680  20,310  20,170  20,230 
			  Notes: 1. A potential new application is cleared when it: has had a calculation and a payment arrangement set up (new scheme only); has had an assessment (old scheme only); has been closed (both schemes); has been identified as having had a good cause decision accepted (both schemes); has been identified as being subject to a reduced benefit decision (both schemes); has been identified as a change of circumstances to an existing case, as opposed to a new application (new scheme only). An application remains uncleared until it achieves one of the states above. It should be noted that that an uncleared application is not necessarily the same as an unprocessed one. As such, uncleared applications will be at varying stages in the application processes, with very few being completely unprocessed. 2. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. '-' indicates a figure less than five. 3. This table counts applications for child support. Not all applications become live cases. It is not possible to quantify the extent to which the Agency's clerical new-scheme caseload is or is not included in the above numbers.

Departmental Energy Policy

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to make his Department carbon neutral.

Anne McGuire: This Department is committed and actively seeking to reduce carbon emissions in line with the Government target to become carbon neutral by 2012.
	Working with our estates Partners—Land Securities Trillium, a number of ways to reduce energy consumption are being explored including the installation of energy efficient equipment across the estate and improved metering and reporting to improve issue resolution. Using available Government funding this Department and Land Securities Trillium are initiating long-term energy saving measures, including Combined Heat and Power (CHP) installations and biomass boilers.
	The Department is also actively reducing business travel, in particular the vehicle fleet and mileage, encouraging businesses to consider telekit and video conferencing as an alternative to travel. The Department has also committed to taking part in the Government Carbon Offsetting Scheme to offset carbon emissions from Departmental business air travel.
	On energy, this Department has an excellent record for using renewable electricity, currently 48 per cent. against the target of 10 per cent. We are seeking viable opportunities to generate our own renewable supplies.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what housing benefit expenditure was in each local authority area in London in each of the last five years at 2006 prices.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure in London local authorities 
			  £ million (2006-07 prices) 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 City of London 4.740 5.300 5.047 5.044 5.181 
			 Camden 133.127 148.950 140.189 150.169 150.487 
			 Greenwich 92.698 93.476 95.133 99.090 102.604 
			 Hackney 174.720 171.793 150.907 185.937 179.929 
			 Hammersmith 88.468 97.099 95.623 103.011 109.151 
			 Islington 123.115 131.623 129.172 137.024 138.875 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 76.814 85.512 84.193 93.371 99.359 
			 Lambeth 145.962 161.948 153.799 170.287 179.159 
			 Lewisham 106.316 115.635 107.830 120.125 130.739 
			 Southwark 136.447 145.982 138.573 145.404 150.291 
			 Tower Hamlets 132.638 145.275 146.664 156.377 163.800 
			 Wandsworth 104.614 111.057 115.494 120.439 132.106 
			 Westminster 140.477 149.897 150.005 167.744 179.254 
			 Barking 56.225 58.924 60.315 67.026 73.499 
			 Barnet 96.835 106.443 112.789 126.462 133.643 
			 Bexley 43.217 44.418 46.286 50.203 54.152 
			 Brent 142.615 157.922 158.136 172.551 181.895 
			 Bromley 60.360 64.177 68.322 69.563 74.378 
			 Croydon 107.009 112.938 113.277 124.332 134.685 
			 Ealing 111.171 117.147 119.848 131.977 145.217 
			 Enfield 104.631 116.898 117.463 133.662 149.034 
			 Haringey 151.200 164.115 161.930 181.725 198.335 
			 Harrow 59.110 65.095 70.192 76.178 79.986 
			 Havering 35.691 36.709 36.833 38.916 42.313 
			 Hillingdon 69.688 77.256 81.032 86.252 91.296 
			 Hounslow 63.732 71.229 73.076 77.875 83.360 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 30.734 34.380 35.257 36.989 39.638 
			 Merton 39.907 42.720 44.431 47.436 50.625 
			 Newham 153.406 171.990 178.702 200.452 226.099 
			 Redbridge 66.349 71.494 74.175 86.038 95.272 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 36.231 38.971 40.043 42.208 42.866 
			 Sutton 34.702 37.690 37.722 40.351 43.503 
			 Waltham Forest 88.659 92.159 91.854 102.270 108.302 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure data is taken from local authorities' subsidy returns. 2. All figures are final audited data with the exception of 2005-06 which is provisional (pre-audited) data and so may be subject to change. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what housing benefit expenditure was on households in temporary accommodation in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure on households in temporary accommodation 
			  £ million 
			   Nominal  Real terms (2006-07 prices) 
			 1997-98 99 123 
			 1998-99 131 158 
			 1999-2000 157 185 
			 2000-01 179 209 
			 2001-02 239 272 
			 2002-03 306 338 
			 2003-04 372 399 
			 2004-05 499 521 
			 2005-06 597 612 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure data are taken from local authorities' subsidy returns. 2. All figures are final audited data with the exception of 2005-06 which is provisional (pre-audited) data. 3. GDP deflator is the latest available as at 5 pm on 2 November 2006, last updated 27 September 2006, and is taken from: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/gdp_deflators/data_gdp/fig.cfm 4. Due to historical differences in the treatment of Scottish rent rebate expenditure, it is not possible from local authority subsidy returns to identify all expenditure on temporary accommodation in Scotland. These figures may therefore slightly understate temporary accommodation expenditure. From an assessment of the England and Wales data, we estimated that this understatement would be of the order of £1-2 million.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed jobseeker's allowance in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Jobseeker's allowance claimants in the Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside Metropolitan borough council, Government Office for the North East region and the UK; at December each year, 1997-2006 
			  Date  Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  UK 
			 1997 2,829 6,460 87,155 1,391,380 
			 1998 2,904 6,635 81,933 1,293,559 
			 1999 2,582 6,035 73,934 1,140,584 
			 2000 2,401 5,531 67,425 1,011,430 
			 2001 2,408 5,659 61,684 948,460 
			 2002 2,138 5,049 54,577 919,089 
			 2003 1,801 4,243 49,969 889,717 
			 2004 1,778 4,055 44,269 810,193 
			 2005 1,752 3,953 46,883 892,711 
			 2006 1,990 4,484 51,285 923,460 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five, 2. Figures include clerically held cases.  Source:  100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people ending a claim for jobseeker's allowance of duration of  (a) three to six,  (b) six to 12 and  (c) 12 months or more in the most recent year for which figures are available moved back into work; and how many there were (i) in total, (ii) aged 25 to 49 and (iii) aged over 50 years.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Proportion of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants within each duration range who entered into a job within six weeks of their claim ending 
			  Duration of JSA claim  Percentage 
			 3 to 6 months 52 
			 6 to 12 months 43 
			 Over 12 months 34 
			  Notes: 1. The information is for JSA claims which end between April 2005 and March 2006. 2. Job entries that start within six weeks of the end of the JSA claim are included. 3. The job entries in the table are derived from two sources of information (i) the reason given by the claimant for ending their claim and (ii) job entries notified to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. There may be additional job entries that we do not know about.

Loans and Grants

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department paid out in  (a) loans and  (b) grants to people to pay for (i) furniture and (ii) white goods in 2005-06; and what systems his Department has in place to ensure that payment for these items is spent as intended.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Estimate gross expenditure in Great Britain in 2005-06 
			  (£ million) 
			  Category  Crisis loans  Community care grants 
			 Beds 7 25 
			 Cookers 10 22 
			 Washing machines 2 13 
			 Miscellaneous household items excluding bedding and floor coverings 5 31 
			 Source: DWP Social fund policy, budget and management information system. 
		
	
	There are no systems in place to check how applicants spend the award of a repayable loan or community care grant. In 2005-06 there with over 2.5 million such awards in total. The administrative cost of policing these awards is prohibitive, and in any case loans are fully repayable. It is the responsibility of the customer to use the loan or grant appropriately. Exceptionally, the decision maker may decide to make payment to a third party who can provide, or arrange for the provision of, the items covered by the award.
	Each of the three discretionary social fund payments—community care grants, budgeting loans, crisis loans—has its own application form. The form is designed to obtain from the applicant the type of information needed to make an initial decision for that particular payment type.
	The focus of each form is therefore different—for example the crisis loan process elicits information about the emergency or disaster, whilst the community care grant process focuses on where a grant will help to cope with special difficulties and promote community care.
	Each application contains a declaration that the information given is correct and complete as far as the applicant knows and believes. And a declaration of understanding that if incorrect or incomplete information is given, there is a liability to prosecution or other action.

Pensions

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential costs to public funds of use of deemed buyback by members of pension schemes which started winding up between 1997 and 2004.

James Purnell: It is extremely difficult to produce an estimate to reasonable standards of reliability due to the lack of sufficient base data. Such estimates as we have are given in the following table. It must be emphasised that these figures are subject to high levels of uncertainty and therefore can be taken as a guide to potential costs only. The estimates assume, among other things, all those who qualify for deemed buyback will take up the option. They show a short-term increase in the funds being paid into the national insurance fund, followed by rising costs as the higher state benefit is paid out.
	
		
			  Deemed buyback policy cost estimate, £ million in nominal prices 
			   Additional pension cost  Transfer received  Total annual cost 
			 2007-08 15 -50 -40 
			 2008-09 15 -50 -35 
			 2009-10 15 -50 -35 
			 2010-11 15 -50 -35 
			 2011-12 15 -50 -35 
			 2012-13 20 — 20 
			 2013-14 20 — 20 
			 2014-15 20 — 20 
			 2015-16 20 — 20 
			 2016-17 25 — 25 
			 2017-18 25 — 25 
			 2018-19 30 — 30 
			 2019-20 30 — 30 
			 2020-21 30 — 30 
			 2021-22 30 — 30 
			 2022-23 30 — 30 
			 2023-24 30 — 30 
			 2024-25 30 — 30 
			 2025-26 30 — 30 
			 2026-27 30 — 30 
			 2027-28 30 — 30 
			 2028-29 30 — 30 
			 2029-30 30 — 30 
			 2030-31 30 — 30 
			 2031-32 25 — 25 
			 2032-33 25 — 25 
			 2033-34 25 — 25 
			 2034-35 25 — 25 
			 2035-36 20 — 20 
			 2036-37 20 — 20 
			 2037-38 20 — 20 
			 2038-39 20 — 20 
			 2039-40 15 — 15 
			 2040-41 15 — 15 
			 2041-42 15 — 15 
			 2042-43 15 — 15 
			 2043-44 10 — 10 
			 2044-45 10 — 10 
			 2045-46 10 — 10 
			  Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest £5 million and therefore may not sum.

State Pension

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1437W, on state pension national insurance contributions, what estimate he has made of how many women, to the nearest 10,000, began to receive state pension in each financial year from 1979-80 to 2004-05; and how many of those women had the number of qualifying years of national insurance contributions needed to earn a full basic state pension reduced by the operation of home responsibilities protection in respect of past receipt of child benefit.

James Purnell: holding answer 25 January 2007
	The information available is set out in the following table. The second column of the table shows the number of women aged 60 in each financial year from 1985-86 to 2004-05 with some entitlement to basic state pension. The third column shows how many of these women had the number of qualifying years needed to earn a full basic state pension reduced by the operation of home responsibilities protection.
	
		
			   Number of women with some entitlement to basic state pension  Number of women with home responsibilities protection 
			 1985-86 240,000 10,000 
			 1986-87 210,000 20,000 
			 1987-88 210,000 20,000 
			 1988-89 210,000 20,000 
			 1989-90 200,000 20,000 
			 1990-91 220,000 30,000 
			 1991-92 200,000 30,000 
			 1992-93 180,000 30,000 
			 1993-94 190,000 40,000 
			 1994-95 190,000 50,000 
			 1995-96 210,000 60,000 
			 1996-97 210,000 60,000 
			 1997-98 230,000 70,000 
			 1998-99 230,000 70,000 
			 1999-2000 240,000 80,000 
			 2000-01 240,000 90,000 
			 2001-02 250,000 100,000 
			 2002-03 290,000 120,000 
			 2003-04 310,000 140,000 
			 2004-05 330,000 160,000 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000. 2. Figures refer to women living in the UK and overseas. 3. Information at this level of detail is not reliable before 1985. 4. Figures refer to entitlement based on women's own contribution record. 5. Some women who reach state pension age in a particular year with some entitlement to basic state pension may defer their entitlement and claim in a later year. Source: Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2003-04